Alien
Reviews Summary C+VG Issue 6 A monster infested maze is the playground for a defensive deathgame. The only way to survive in Alien is to dig holes at strategic spots in the labyrinth. When one of the killer red aliens falls into your trap, you can finish him off by quickly filling it in. Using the keyboard controls this game is awkward to play — joysticks are better. The keys to operate your man are bunched together and to move him up, down, left or right needs some getting used to. It's impossible to get around this by using two fingers from each hand to manoeuvre the man about because you must work the 'A' and 0' keys to activate the digging action with your left hand. Points are scored by killing off the aliens, but it varies randomly, sometimes it could be 200, sometimes 300. Alien requires concentration to work out the best places to dig your holes without hemming you in (you could be devoured by a monster). Don't dig holes which are too far apart. If you have a long way to move your man into position by the time you reach the hole containing the floundering monster it will be too late. He only remains vulnerable for a few seconds. Not one of the most graphically exciting of games for the VIC-20 from Commodore but will keep you busy for a while. Price £19.95 from VIC software dealers. Your Computer Issue 9 Writer: Tim Hartnell In Alien, you fight off a number of little red beasties, who pursue you around a maze of green slabs. You have three minutes of each game in which to find and destroy all the aliens, which you do by burying them when they fall into holes you have cleverly dug. You have three lives, and the P, L, . and ; keys move you around the maze; the A digs holes and D fills them in. It is a good game to play, and one which I would have liked more time to master. This and Superlander tie, in my opinion, for equal second place of the four cartridges tested. Popular Computing Weekly Issue 4 Writer: Peter Gerrard (assumed) Like many of the games cartridges available for the Vic, Alien bears remarkable resemblance to an existing arcade game. It's a fairly accurate reproduction as well, making good use of the Vic's programmable characters. And so to the game itself. This is activated simply by plugging the cartridge into the back of the Vic and after an initial period of centring the image on the screen (why does this always appear to be the case?: you need to play with the cursor keys in order to get the picture centred up) you're ready to go. You control a little man who runs around a maze, being chased by (at first) four alien beings. The idea is to kill the aliens off, and this is where the charm of the game becomes apparent. Rather than the usual space war scenario, where you're merrily blasting down spaceships raining down on you from above, this one is pleasantly different. To eliminate the aliens, you have to dig a hole in the floor of the maze, and wait until one of them blunders into it. Then you have to frantically fill the hole in again before the beast can clamber out. The keyboard takes quite a hammering! As well as having to avoid the monsters, and digging holes every where, you have another enemy to contend with: time. There is a three-minute limit on your achieving success, namely killing all of them off. This is not too bad when there's only four of them, but once you've successfully got rid of all of those, another six take their place to do battle once more. I've never got beyond this stage! Scoring is achieved, as you might imagine, by actually succeeding in burying an alien. Points seem to be given out on a random basis, but are usually around 200 or 300. The faster you catch the aliens the more points you get. The description of the game given to you hints at a monster worth 1000 points, but he seems very shy and doesn't come out very often. You have three lives in total. They go very rapidly at first, but you gradually begin to get the hang of things, and games last a little longer. Summary An original and interesting game, well packaged and presented. Commodore Computing International Issue 2 Writer: Peter Gerrard (assumed) Like many of the games cartridges available for the VIC, this one bears remarkable resemblance to an existing arcade game. It's a fairly accurate reproduction as well, making good use of the VIC programmable characters. One thing missing (lack of space?) was one of the more delightful features of the original game, namely that when you lose a life, an angel appeared from the top of the screen and carried you off. However, you can't have everything. The game itself. This is activated simply by plugging the cartridge into the back of the VIC, and after an initial period of centering the image on the screen (why does this always appear to the case: you need to play with the cursor keys in order to get the picture centered up) you're ready to go. You control a little man around a maze, being chased by (at first) four alien beings. The idea is to kill the aliens off, and this is where the charm of the game becomes apparent. Something different. Rather than the usual space war scenario, where you're merrily blasting down spaceships raining down on you from above, this one is pleasantly different. To eliminate the aliens, you have to dig a hole in the floor of the maze, and wait until one of them blunders into it. Then you have to frantically fill the hole in again before the beast can clamber out. The keyboard takes quite a hammering at this point! As well as having to avoid the monsters, and digging holes everywhere, you have another enemy to contend with: time. There is a three minute limit on your achieving success, namely killing all of them off. This is not too bad when there's only four of them, but once you've succesfully got rid of all of those, another six take their place to do battle once more. I've never got beyond this stage! Scoring Scoring is done, as you might imagine, by actually succeeding in burying an alien. Points seem to be given out on a random basis, but are usually around 2 or 3 hundred: the faster you catch them the more points you get. The description of the game given to you hints at a monster worth one thousand points, but he seems very shy and doesn't come out very often. You have three lives in total: they go very rapidly at first, but you gradually begin to get the hang of things, and games last a little longer. One note of complaint is the manner of playing the game. It was designed for a right handed person (I'm not!), and needs four keys to move the man around the maze. A further two keys are necessary to dig the holes and fill them up again, which for a right handed person would be all right, but a left handed person could have problems, with fingers like wet spaghetti wandering over the keyboard attempting to find the correct keys in time. True, the program can be used with a joystick, making life a lot easier, but why should a left handed person have to pay out an extra 7.50 pounds? Summary An original and interesting game, well packaged and presented. As stated earlier, however, programmers should realise that not everyone is right handed! News C+VG Issue 4 - (February 1982) Buried and Dead - page 9 Old fashioned pick and shovel work is the only way to rid your planet of a strange new breed of alien creatures. In Alien, the action lakes place in a maze, infiltrated by leggy beings, whose aim is to hunt you down and eat you. Your only escape is to dig holes in the labyrinths of the maze blocking the hungry creatures' way. When they fall into the holes you have dug, you must hover nearby and fill the hole in over their heads. The aliens are surprisingly agile and in a flash they can hop out of their potential coffin and eat your man up in one fell swoop. You get points for the number of evil meanies you successfully bury, and if you wipe one frame clean of them you get the chance to have another go at a new frame. Alien will run on a VIC 20, and makes use of the machine's high resolution graphics. It can be yours for £19.95 from Commodore dealers. Category:VIC-20 Games Category:Commodore Category:C+VG Reviews Category:Your Computer Reviews Category:Popular Computing Weekly Reviews Category:Commodore Computing International Reviews